30 NOSLER OR 300 PRC

[MudRunner2005]

According to who? Were all the rifles tested spec'd the exact same for an unbiased test? And why did they claim the .300 PRC the winner? What did it do that none of the others did? I'm surprised Barrett didn't rename it the .300 Barrett... How much money exchanged hands to get Hornady and Barrett to cooperate on this private sector sales-driving project? This is fixing to be friggin hilarious! Now every armchair sniper will be selling their precious .300 WinMags to buy a .300 PRC... HAHAHAHA!!!

 

[WeiserBucks]

300 PRC won't run with a Norma , construed test or not .

 

[Weatherby Fan]

Performance wise it's apples to apples but I would go 300 PRC as Hornady actually supports what they develop with readily available Brass, affordable ammunition which is almost half the price of Nosler ammo,
It's hard not to like what they offer, they put some thought into the design of their cartridges, 6.5CM, 6.5PRC and now the 300 PRC.

 

[yorke-1]

300 PRC won't run with a Norma , construed test or not .

I don't think anyone is saying that it will, maybe I missed it though. The case capacities aren't that far off though, maybe 10gr difference in usable case capacity with bullets seated to similar OALs. That's not huge, but definitely enough to make a difference in favor of the Norma.

 

[FURMAN]

I don't think anyone is saying that it will, maybe I missed it though. The case capacities aren't that far off though, maybe 10gr difference in usable case capacity with bullets seated to similar OALs. That's not huge, but definitely enough to make a difference.

I will not make a statement of fact about comparison on performance but the case capacity between a 300 Norma(not improved) and the 300 prc is a whopping 4-5 grains of H20. The difference between the 30 Nosler and the 300 Norma is a whopping 3-4. In order to use that It will have to be capable of pushing the desired bullet to the next accuracy node. In the two 30 Noslers I have had the node for a 215 is 3030-3050 in a 26" I would suspect the next node is 3150-3200. I seriously doubt the 3 grain of H20 is going to get it there but I could be wrong. I am also going to guess the 300 PRC will reach the 3030-3050 node with a little less powder but again I could be wrong. In either case I really do not want to mess with a lupua bolt head. I have not found the end life of a 30 Nosler brass at 6 firings. The only 300wm factory ammo I would personally hunt with is the Berger(abm) 215 stuff. The 210 30 Nosler has not shot well in either of my barrels. The 180s shoot but I don't shoot 30s to shoot 180s. We will see how the prc does.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Performance wise it's apples to apples but I would go 300 PRC as Hornady actually supports what they develop with readily available Brass, affordable ammunition which is almost half the price of Nosler ammo,
It's hard not to like what they offer, they put some thought into the design of their cartridges, 6.5CM, 6.5PRC and now the 300 PRC.

Not really... The CM was sort of an original, but the PRC line is just stealing already established wildcats, giving them a different name, and then get them SAAMI spec'd. That's the whole magic that goes on behind the curtain. They're the wizards that are just laying down voodoo on the masses that hang on everything they do.

I buy Hornady brass, and shoot Hornady ammo in some of my handguns and AR's. I'm not hating on Hornady, I'm just dispelling the magic behind what they're doing. Some folks just don't want to admit it, and others get really pizzed off when you burst their bubble.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I don't think anyone is saying that it will, maybe I missed it though. The case capacities aren't that far off though, maybe 10gr difference in usable case capacity with bullets seated to similar OALs. That's not huge, but definitely enough to make a difference in favor of the Norma.

If they wanted something like the .300 PRC, and better than the .300 WinMag, why didn't they go with the already well-established .30 Nosler? I'm sure Nosler would cut the government some price slack on mass-amounts of .30 Nosler ammo...

Personally, I think they should look into the .28 Nosler with a high BC 200 grain FMJ for battlefield use. Flat, fast, powerful, wind-bucking, very long range capable... Just personal opinion.

 

[DJ Fergus]

Hornady brass is nowhere close to Lapua consistency. Not even close to nosler or Norma consistency. If it was, I would be all in on the 300 prc even though it's probably going to be 150fps slower give or take than a 300NM. I assume that Hornady hand picked brass for military. testing. Not the brass the average guy would get. I think the case design is great and we'll though out. I would order a barrel for one today If Hornady could talk Lapua into making some brass for the 300 prc. I think Hornady is a great company but their brass is lacking when compared to Lapua Norma & nosler in that order. They should call up those three companies and thank them for making 6.5 cm brass. But the truth is that they are focused on marketing to the guy who just bought a $350 bolt action that wants to buy a box of ammo that says match grade or longrange on it. I would gladly pay Lapua price for Hornady brass if it we're of the same quality. Sorry for the long rant. Just frustates me cause their bullets are great and recent case designs are well thought out. Why can't they offer premium brass?

 

[FURMAN]

One thing many of us on this forum do not ever consider yet it is a fact is they are not thinking of, nor do they care about, the reloader when designing a cartridge for SAAMI. Nosler designed the Nosler line for there short and outdated actions which completely hinders its performance in factory form. I love the 30 Nosler but absolutely not in factory form. The 300 PRC is a much better overall design specifically in the throating. Hornady did step out of the box wether you like it or not. I greatly appreciate that fact. They did not stick to the 3.4" or even 3.6" constraints of the past. I hope the 6.5 PRC and 300 PRC make some of the manufacturers rethink the 2.850 and 3.4 boxes. I also find the factory offerings more appealing in the PRC than the Nosler.

 

[Capt RB]

According to who? Were all the rifles tested spec'd the exact same for an unbiased test? And why did they claim the .300 PRC the winner? What did it do that none of the others did? I'm surprised Barrett didn't rename it the .300 Barrett... How much money exchanged hands to get Hornady and Barrett to cooperate on this private sector sales-driving project? This is fixing to be friggin hilarious! Now every armchair sniper will be selling their precious .300 WinMags to buy a .300 PRC... HAHAHAHA!!!

Here's the problem mud In mass produced ammo the results they got clearly showed the 300PRC having a distinct advantage in ES and SD. Doesn't matter how much money was exchanged (pretty ignorant comment)
The 300PRC is running about 75.2 grains of H1000 with the 225. The mk 248 mod 1 was running 77ish with the 220 sierria and blowing primers ask around. Both are running 2850

 

[FURMAN]

Hornady brass is nowhere close to Lapua consistency. Not even close to nosler or Norma consistency. If it was, I would be all in on the 300 prc even though it's probably going to be 150fps slower give or take than a 300NM. I assume that Hornady hand picked brass for military. testing. Not the brass the average guy would get. I think the case design is great and we'll though out. I would order a barrel for one today If Hornady could talk Lapua into making some brass for the 300 prc. I think Hornady is a great company but their brass is lacking when compared to Lapua Norma & nosler in that order. They should call up those three companies and thank them for making 6.5 cm brass. But the truth is that they are focused on marketing to the guy who just bought a $350 bolt action that wants to buy a box of ammo that says match grade or longrange on it. I would gladly pay Lapua price for Hornady brass if it we're of the same quality. Sorry for the long rant. Just frustates me cause their bullets are great and recent case designs are well thought out. Why can't they offer premium brass?

After you do load development for enough different cartridges you will see some are just more forgiving. The 6.5 CM is one of them. It shoots stupid small groups with crappy, large weight variance, brass. The 6.5 PRC is already proving to be the same. Many cartridges I have developed for can not say the same.

 

[WildRose]

I sure like the sounds of the PRC. But where are they? Pretty tough find right now unless it's a custom build. I would think with hornady already making factory ammo, gun manufacturers should have them out soon? Any body have any leads on this?

The cartridge was only rolled out officially in October. GAP is chambering rifles in .300 PRC and I'm sure others will be soon. Give it some time.

 

[FURMAN]

Here's the problem mud In mass produced ammo the results they got clearly showed the 300PRC having a distinct advantage in ES and SD. Doesn't matter how much money was exchanged (pretty ignorant comment)
The 300PRC is running about 75.2 grains of H1000 with the 225. The mk 248 mod 1 was running 77ish with the 220 sierria and blowing primers ask around. Both are running 2850

As I have stated before I have no current interest in a Lapua bolt face so I have not checked any further into it and please do not quote me but I believe Frank Green of Bartlein barrels said this same thing. I also think I remember reading something similar from Ryan Cleckner. If you care to know you could try googling it.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Here's the problem mud In mass produced ammo the results they got clearly showed the 300PRC having a distinct advantage in ES and SD. Doesn't matter how much money was exchanged (pretty ignorant comment)
The 300PRC is running about 75.2 grains of H1000 with the 225. The mk 248 mod 1 was running 77ish with the 220 sierria and blowing primers ask around. Both are running 2850

If you only knew how much money gets exchanged to scratch each other's backs in the MIC and other parts of the government, you would be in shock. That's not an ignorant comment...That's one of the most truthful comments you'll ever read. Just like when folks say, "it's got to be good, the military uses it..." The military uses the cheapest stuff they can buy for the cheapest price, as long as it passes their specs and tests. Sure, the SOC guys and operators, and specialty units get to pick some specialty stuff like ACOGs and PEQ-15's, and such, but your average soldier is running a cheap select-fire M4 that's stripped-down with irons.

As for factory ammo, the ES and SD has to do with the quality and consistency of how the ammo is loaded... Wouldn't it be MASSIVELY cheaper for them to just tell Lake City to start loading the .300WM ammo more precisely? If they're blowing primers from temp pressure spikes, why not use a different powder that's more temp stable? That would be significantly cheaper than selling-off and buying BILLIONS of dollars of more guns.